Karthi locks Diwali, Pongal for his releases

The festive season will be special for Karthi Sivakumar -- his Tamil film "All in All Azhagu Raja" will release during Diwali this year, while "Biriyani" will hit the screens on Pongal next year.

"Karthi's comedy entertainer 'All in All Azhagu Raja' with director M. Rajesh is slated to release during Diwali this year, while his comedy-thriller with director Venkat Prabhu will hit the screens during Pongal next year," read a statement issued on behalf of the actor.

"Biriyani" was earlier slated to release in September, but for reasons yet unknown it has been pushed to next year.

Karthi has pinned all his hopes on the two films since his last two releases "Saguni" and "Alex Pandian" bombed at the box-office.

However, big budget films such as Jiiva's "Endrendrum Punnagai", Vijay's "Jilla", Ajith's "Arrambam" and most likely Shankar's "Ai" are also getting ready for Diwali or Pongal release.

"These two festive occasions are very important for the Tamil film industry. In fact, Pongal is considered even more important because it is celebrated across four days and, therefore, the audience likely to visit theatres across these days is higher than on any given day," trade analyst Trinath told IANS.

Karthi's Tamil action-drama "Alex Pandian" released during 2013 Pongal, but failed to keep the cash registers ringing, while low-budget Tamil comedy "Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiya" that released along with it, struck gold at the box office.

During Diwali 2012, Vijay's "Thuppakki" released and turned out to be the biggest hit in his career. It reportedly minted over Rs.100 crore at the box office.